# Tusla Early Years Inspectorate > Draft the Safety Statement and Child Safeguarding Statement for creches and early years services in Ireland. Validates staff-to-child ratios against Tusla’s Schedule 6 (Early Years Services Regulations 2016). Tags: Ireland, Childcare, Education, Tusla, Compliance, Safeguarding, Early Years ## Example Prompts - Draft our Safety Statement for Tusla inspection - Help us complete our Child Safeguarding Statement for the creche - Check that our room staff-to-child ratios meet Tusla requirements for 0-1, 1-2 and 2-3 year olds URL: https://rakenne.app/skills/tusla-early-years-inspectorate/index.md Try this skill: https://rakenne.app/a/?skill=tusla-early-years-inspectorate ## Overview Draft the **Safety Statement** (Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005) and **Child Safeguarding Statement** (Children First Act 2015) for creches and early years services in Ireland. The skill aligns with Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate and the Quality and Regulatory Framework (QRF), and includes a validation tool for staff-to-child ratios under Schedule 6 of the Early Years Services Regulations 2016. ## Example > **You:** We need to draft our Safety Statement and Child Safeguarding Statement for the Tusla inspection. We have three rooms: babies 0–1 (6 children, 2 staff), toddlers 1–2 (10 children, 2 staff), and 2–3 year olds (12 children, 2 staff). > > **Agent:** I’ll use the Tusla references and templates to draft both statements. I’ll run **validate_staff_ratios** on your room data to confirm the ratios meet Schedule 6, then plug the outcome into the Safety Statement. *(Produces draft Safety Statement with hazard/risk table and ratio table, and draft Child Safeguarding Statement with the six mandatory procedures and risk-of-harm assessment.)* > > **You:** Can you run the ratio check again? We’re thinking of taking two more toddlers in the 1–2 room. > > **Agent:** *(Runs validate_staff_ratios with rooms: 0–1 (6 children, 2 staff), 1–2 (12 children, 2 staff), 2–3 (12 children, 2 staff).)* The 1–2 room would then have 12 children with 2 staff; Schedule 6 requires 1:5 for that age band, so you need at least 3 staff. I’ll note in the Safety Statement that the 1–2 room must have minimum 3 staff when at full capacity of 12. ## Excerpt of a generated document The agent produces Safety Statements and Child Safeguarding Statements from the skill templates and references. Below is a condensed excerpt of each, plus the **validate_staff_ratios** report format. **Safety Statement — ratio table and policy (excerpt):** ```markdown ## 3. Staff-to-child ratios We maintain staff-to-child ratios in line with the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, Schedule 6. | Room / area | Age band | Max children per staff | How we ensure compliance | |-------------|----------|------------------------|----------------------------| | Baby room | 0–1 | 1:3 | Minimum 2 staff when 6 children present | | Toddler room| 1–2 | 1:5 | Rota ensures 2 staff for up to 10 children | | Pre-school | 2–3 | 1:6 | 2 staff for up to 12 children; 3rd staff when 13+ | ``` **Child Safeguarding Statement — six procedures (excerpt):** ```markdown ## 4. Mandatory procedures We have the following procedures in place as required by the Children First Act 2015: 1. **Procedure for managing allegations** against workers or volunteers — [Policy name]; designated person [Name]; Tusla notified as required. 2. **Safe recruitment and selection** — Garda vetting for all staff/volunteers, references, and interview checklist. 3. **Child safeguarding training and information** — All staff complete Tusla-recognised training; this statement and Children First guidance available in [location]. 4. **Reporting procedure** — Concerns reported to Tusla and An Garda Síochána in line with Children First; list of mandated persons maintained. 5. **List of mandated persons** — Maintained by [role]; all mandated persons aware of their obligations. 6. **Relevant person** — [Name], [contact details]. ``` **validate_staff_ratios report (excerpt — all pass):** ``` ====================================================================== Tusla Early Years — Staff-to-Child Ratio Validation Service type: full_day Reference: Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regs 2016, Schedule 6 ====================================================================== Room 1 — 0-1 years: 6 children, 2 staff (required min: 2 for ratio 1:3) — OK Room 2 — 1-2 years: 10 children, 2 staff (required min: 2 for ratio 1:5) — OK Room 3 — 2-3 years: 12 children, 2 staff (required min: 2 for ratio 1:6) — OK ====================================================================== RESULT: All rooms meet the required ratios. ====================================================================== ``` ## Extension tools and validations The skill includes one extension tool: - **validate_staff_ratios** — Validates that each room’s staff and child numbers meet Tusla’s required ratios. You pass an array of rooms (age band, number of children, number of staff) and optional service type (*full_day* or *sessional*). The tool reports pass/fail per room and overall. **Validations performed by validate_staff_ratios:** 1. **Applicable ratios** — Uses Schedule 6 of the Early Years Services Regulations 2016: for *full_day* care, max children per staff are 3 (0–1), 5 (1–2), 6 (2–3), 8 (3–6); for *sessional* care, 3 (0–1), 5 (1–2.5), 11 (2.5–6). Age bands 2–3 and 3–6 are supported for both service types. 2. **Per-room check** — For each room, computes minimum staff required as ceil(children ÷ max_per_staff) for that age band. Compares with the stated staff count. 3. **Result** — Marks each room OK or FAIL. If any room fails, the overall result instructs to add staff or reduce child numbers. The tool does not modify documents; it outputs a plain-text report for the agent to use when drafting or updating the Safety Statement. ## Getting Started Add any existing policies or drafts to the project workspace, then activate the *Tusla Early Years Inspectorate* skill. The agent will draft or update the two statements and validate staff ratios as needed. --- Back to [Skill Library](https://rakenne.app/skills/index.md)